News and Media Resources:

Immunization Works! January 2006 issue

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Immunization Works Monthly Update is provided to national health care provider and consumer groups for distribution to their members and constituencies. The immunization information provided is non-proprietary and is encouraged to be widely disseminated and shared.

New Childhood & Adolescent Immunization Schedule

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has just released a new Harmonized Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedule for 2006. The recommendations and format of the childhood and adolescent immunization schedule and catch-up schedule for January-December 2006 were approved by ACIP, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).

The changes to the previous childhood and adolescent immunization schedule, published in January 2005, are as follows:

• The importance of the hepatitis B vaccine (HepB) birth dose has been emphasized. Vaccination of infants born to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-negative mothers can be delayed in rare circumstances, but only if a physician's order to withhold the vaccine and a copy of the mother's original HBsAg-negative laboratory report are documented in the infant's medical record. Administering four doses of HepB is permissible (e.g., when combination vaccines are administered after the birth dose); however, if monovalent HepB is used, a dose at age 4 months is not needed. For infants born to HBsAg-positive mothers, testing for HBsAg and antibody to HBsAg after completion of the vaccine series should be conducted at age 9-18 months (generally at the next well-child visit after completion of the vaccine series).
• A new tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis vaccine recommended by ACIP for adolescents (Tdap adolescent preparation) was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 5, 2005, for use in the United States. Tdap is recommended for adolescents aged 11-12 years who have completed the recommended childhood diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and pertussis/diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertusis (DTP/DTaP) vaccination series and have not received a tetanus and diphtheria toxoids (Td) booster dose. Adolescents aged 13-18 years who missed the age 11-12-year Td/Tdap booster dose should also receive a single dose of Tdap if they have completed the recommended childhood DTP/DTaP vaccination series. Subsequent Td boosters are recommended every 10 years.
• Meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4), approved by FDA on January 14, 2005, should be administered to all children at age 11-12 years as well as to unvaccinated adolescents at high school entry (age 15 years). Other adolescents who wish to decrease their risk for meningococcal disease may also be vaccinated. All college freshmen living in dormitories should also be vaccinated with MCV4 or meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine (MPSV4). For prevention of invasive meningococcal disease, vaccination with MPSV4 for children aged 2-10 years and with MCV4 for older children in certain high-risk groups is recommended.
• Influenza vaccine is now recommended for children aged >6 months with certain risk factors, which now specifically include conditions that can compromise respiratory function or handling of respiratory secretions or that can increase the risk for aspiration.
• Hepatitis A vaccine is now universally recommended for all children at age 1 year (12-23 months). The 2 doses in the series should be administered at least 6 months apart.
• The catch-up schedule for persons aged 7-18 years has been changed for Td; Tdap may be substituted for any dose in a primary catch-up series or as a booster if age appropriate for Tdap. A 5-year interval from the last Td dose is encouraged when Tdap is used as a booster dose.

The MMWR article, Recommended Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedule -- United States, 2006, describes these changes in full along with the schedule and references.

Other Immunization News

New Childhood Hepatitis B ACIP Statement

On December 23, 2005, the New Childhood Hepatitis B statement from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) was published in CDC’s MMWR. This report, the first in a two-part statement, provides updated recommendations and approaches to address challenges in implementing the strategy to eliminate HBV transmission in the United States:

• Improve prevention of perinatal and early childhood HBV transmission. Implement delivery hospital policies and procedures, case-management programs, and laws and regulations to improve identification of infants born to HBsAg-positive mothers and to mothers with unknown HBsAg status at the time of delivery, ensure administration of appropriate postexposure immunoprophylaxis to these infants at birth, and administer a birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine to medically stable infants who weigh >2,000 g and who are born to HBsAg-negative mothers.
• Improve vaccine coverage of children and adolescents who were not previously vaccinated. Implement immunization record reviews for all children aged 11-12 years and children and adolescents aged <19 years who were born in countries in which HBV endemicity is high or intermediate; adopt hepatitis B vaccine requirements for school entry; and vaccinate all unvaccinated adolescents in settings that provide health-care services to persons in this age group.

For a full description, consult the MMWR report, A Comprehensive Immunization Strategy to Eliminate Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus Infection in the United States. Also, more information on this topic will be provided at the National Immunization Program (NIP) netconference on February 2, 2006 (see “Meetings, Conferences and Resources” below).

Influenza Update

Influenza disease activity has increased substantially in some western states; notably California, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona, with anecdotal reports of crowded emergency rooms and high school absenteeism rates. Meanwhile, CDC’s influenza surveillance system has detected a clear upturn in influenza in most parts of the country. For the week ending December 24, 2005, the aforementioned states reported widespread influenza activity and 4 other states reported regional activity. Only 5 states reported no influenza activity. During this reporting week, about 13% of specimens submitted to laboratories participating in the surveillance system were positive for influenza, a substantial increase over the average of 2.5% for the season to date. Also, sentinel healthcare providers reported that 3.1% of visits to their facilities were due to influenza-like illness, well above the baseline of 2.2%. Nearly 95% of the positive specimens to date this season have yielded type A viruses and 99% of those were A H3N2 viruses. The antigenic characterizations performed to date indicate that nearly all of them are similar to the A California component of this year’s vaccine.

CDC continues to recommend vaccination while acknowledging that vaccine availability will vary greatly from one community to the next. Nevertheless, persons wishing to avoid influenza, particularly those in priority groups who are at higher risk of complications if they contract influenza, should continue to seek vaccination. Even if influenza is occurring in their communities, these persons may benefit by getting vaccinated. Physicians and other healthcare providers are encouraged to continue offering vaccine as long as supplies remain. Additional quantities of vaccine are available for purchase -- some with and some without return guarantees.

CDC Influenza Lead Announced

National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID) and National Immunization Program (NIP) leadership announced that Jim LeDuc will serve as influenza lead and interim influenza goal team leader for CDC. Dr. LeDuc has been the Director of the Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases (DVRD) in NCID since 2000. Previously, he was the Associate Director for Global Health, NCID, and prior to that, he was technical advisor for arboviruses and hemorrhagic fevers at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland. For over 20 years, Dr. LeDuc also served as an officer and research scientist in the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command, where he conducted field and laboratory investigations into the epidemiology of virus diseases, developed diagnostic tests, and participated in vaccine development efforts. Dr. LeDuc received his bachelor’s degree from California State University at Long Beach, and his Masters of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from the University of California at Los Angeles. He is the author of nearly 200 scientific papers and book chapters on infectious diseases and global health.

Pertussis National Surveillance Data

In a recent MMWR, CDC summarized national surveillance data on pertussis, reported during 2001-2003. The data precedes implementation of national recommendations for adolescent pertussis vaccination.

Pertussis is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable bacterial illness characterized by paroxysmal cough, posttussive vomiting, and inspiratory whoop. Pertussis also can occur as a mild or moderate cough illness in persons who are partially immune. In the United States, most hospitalizations and nearly all deaths from pertussis are reported in infants less than 6 months old, but substantial morbidity does occur in other age groups. A substantial increase in reported cases has occurred among adolescents, who become susceptible to pertussis approximately 6 to 10 years after childhood vaccination. In June 2005, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended vaccinating persons aged 11--18 years with tetanus and diphtheria toxoids (Tdap). Implementing the ACIP recommendation is expected to substantially reduce morbidity associated with pertussis among adolescents.

Consult the MMWR Report, Pertussis -- United States, 2001-2003 to see the complete details.

Provider Reminders at Visit Improve Immunization Coverage

A recently published study offers strong support for provider reminders about the child’s next immunization visit at the time of the immunization visit. The study compared 4:3:1:3:3 (4+ doses of diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and pertussis vaccine, 3+ doses of poliovirus vaccine, 1+ doses of measles-containing vaccine, 3+ doses of Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine, and 3+ doses of hepatitis B vaccine) coverage among children 19-35 months whose caregivers learned by different methods when their child's most recent immunization was needed. Methods included: provider reminders during an immunization visit (of the next scheduled immunization visit); use of a shot card/record; use of reminder/recall systems; and informal methods such as reminders from relatives, friends, or daycare providers.

Of all methods, provider reminders during an immunization visit (of the next scheduled immunization visit) were found to be the most effective. Coverage rates for children of “reminded” caregivers were significantly higher than children of “un-reminded” caregivers (77% vs. 70%). Consult the complete article, How Do Caregivers Know When to Take their Child for Immunizations?, published in BMC Pediatrics.

CDC Research Guide, Public Comment Concludes January 15

CDC continues to seek public comment on the new CDC Health Protection Research Guide, 2006-2015. A public comment period, which began on Friday, November 18, 2005 and lasts for 60 days, will conclude on January 15, 2006. The research guide can be accessed and comments can be submitted. For more information, please call Jamila Rashid, PhD, MPH, of CDC’s Office of Public Health Research, at 404-639-4621 or send an e-mail to ResearchGuide@cdc.gov

Meetings, Conferences, and Resources

Upcoming NetConferences

The National Immunization Program (NIP) will present two live netconferences, on January 19 and February 2, both at 12:00 PM Eastern time. The netconferences are designed to provide clinicians with the most up-to-date information on immunization issues. The conference on January 19 will cover two topics: New Hepatitis A Vaccine Recommendations and Overview of Vaccine Information Statements (VIS). The conference on February 2 will cover New ACIP Recommendations: Prevention of Perinatal and Childhood Hepatitis B Infections. Both programs will combine a telephone audio conference with simultaneous online visual content. This will allow for a question and answer segment both by telephone and via the Internet. Internet access and a separate phone line are needed to participate. Graphics will be available to download as a Power Point file after the presentations. Please note that registration closes the morning of the day preceding the netconferences. Also, both programs will be archived & can be viewed after the broadcast.

Upcoming Satellite Broadcasts Series

Dates for the annual four-part satellite series titled “Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases” are February 9, 16, 23 and March 2, 2006 from 12 noon to 3:30 pm Eastern Time. Please note the new starting time of 12 noon; this is different from what was previously published. The satellite broadcast will provide a comprehensive look at the field of immunization and vaccine-preventable diseases. Each broadcast features a live question-and-answer session in which participants can phone in, fax or email their questions to instructors. The series can be viewed as a satellite broadcast from a registered site, or through a concurrent broadcast on your personal home or office computer.

New Web Page Lists ACIP Provisional Recommendations

Due to the time lapse between approval of new recommendations by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and publication of the new recommendation in the MMWR (following approval by the CDC Director), CDC has developed a web page with links to all provisional immunization related ACIP recommendations. Once these recommendations are approved by the CDC Director and published in the MMWR, they will be removed from the site.

Submit Abstracts for Coalition Conference

The 7th National Conference on Immunization Coalitions is accepting abstracts through January 27, 2006.  The Conference will be held from August 9-11, 2006 in Denver, Colorado. Abstract applications must be received electronically, no later than January 27, 2006. For more information on the conference or to register, please visit their website.

Register Now for NIC Best Rate

The 40th National Immunization Conference (NIC) -- to be held March 6-9, 2006, at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia -- will comprise six topic tracks: Adult and Adolescent Immunization, Epidemiology and Vaccine Safety, Health and Risk Communications, Immunization Information Systems, Programmatic Issues, and Policy and Legislation. Please register before January 13, 2006 to obtain the best rate. Participants can register online.

NIP Needs Pilot Testers

The National Immunization Program (NIP) has an ongoing need for volunteers to pilot test immunization training courses. Volunteers are particularly needed in the following occupations: physicians, pharmacists, health educators, medical assistants and nurses. To learn more about becoming a pilot tester, please send an email to nippilot@cdc.gov.

NIP Job Openings

The National Immunization Program (NIP) is committed to recruiting and hiring qualified candidates for a wide range of positions. Researchers, Medical Officers and Epidemiologists as well as other specialties are often needed to fill positions within NIP. Interested parties are encouraged to apply for these positions. For a current listing of positions available at NIP, please visit the CDC HRMO website.

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